Lighthouse Way (Huckleberry Bay 1)

Luna sidles up next to me and slips her hand into mine. I feel like I just won the lottery.

“I think they secretly have a thing for each other,” she says.

“Wrong,” Apollo argues.

“Ew,” June adds at the same time.

“Isn’t it cute?” Sarah laughs.

“Whatever,” June says and yawns. “I have to go home. I have an early start tomorrow.”

That starts the big exit from the party, with Apollo and Tanner following June.

Sarah also says her goodnights and retires to her room.

“Thanks for dinner,” I say to Luna as she shuts the door behind Tanner. “It was delicious and fun. You’re an excellent hostess.”

“I hope so. I’m going to be hosting guests all the time when the B&B is up and running, so this is good practice. I should do something once a week for all of you. Maybe I should even invite some other people from town. You know, those who don’t care about hurting my feelings if it sucks.”

I close the gap between us and cup her cheek in my hand.

“You’re going to kill it, sweetheart. Nothing about this will suck.”

“I hope you’re right.” Her eyes drop to my lips. “You feel this, right? This intense pull between us? It can’t just be me.”

“It’s not only you,” I confirm and move in even closer. “I feel it. I felt it the minute I looked down from that stage and saw you in the audience on the day of the race.”

“I was surprised you noticed me,” she admits and swallows hard. “And when you winked, I thought for sure you were aiming for someone behind me.”

“No. Definitely not.”

“Okay. Well, that’s good. I would be embarrassed otherwise.”

I let the pad of my thumb brush over her lower lip. “No need to be embarrassed.”

I cover her mouth with mine, gently tasting the sweetness of her lips, partly from the lemon cake she served for dessert, but mostly just from the taste of Luna.

“Missed this,” I whisper near her lips as I pin her to the door and press my body against hers. She’s curvy and soft, and her breast fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. Her hands dive into my hair, and I’m lost to her, kissing her as if my damn life depends on it.

Because in this moment, it feels like it does.

Suddenly, we hear the shower turn on, and I remember that we’re not alone.

I kiss her cheek, her temple, and then rest my forehead against hers.

“Sorry,” she whispers. “I got caught up.”

“You’re not the only one,” I reply and tip her chin up so she can look at me. “Let me take you out tomorrow evening.”

“Like, on a date?”

“Yes, on a date. Away from here, where we can talk and do whatever it is that people do on dates.”

“I’m down for that,” she says with a smile. “I’ll even wear something pretty.”

“You always look amazing.” I kiss her once more. “But I can’t wait to see you. Sleep well tonight.”

“You, too. By the way, how have the headaches been?”

Bad enough to piss me off.

But I don’t want to worry her.

“Not too bad,” I say instead. “I’m okay.”

“Good.”

She steps away from the door so I can open it and walk outside.

“I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow night.”

“I’ll be ready,” she replies and waves at me before closing the door.

Yeah, she’s something special. I’ve known her for most of my life, but this…this is entirely different. I’m already addicted to her. The way she smells, the way she smiles, and definitely the way she feels against me.

I’m not used to going slow when it comes to things in my life, but I’m not going to fuck this up with Luna. We’ll go at the pace that’s comfortable for her and not a bit faster.

If that means hot, stolen kisses and holding her hand for a while, I can live with that.

I hope I don’t have to live with it for long, but I can if necessary.

Because I have a feeling that Luna is the long haul, and I’m not willing to risk that. I won’t lose anything else that means something to me.

Not again.

Chapter Six

Luna

“What’s that smell?” I ask as I hold my hand over my nose and gaze around the old apartment above Wolfe’s new garage.

“We might not want to know,” June says, but Sarah’s all smiles as she saunters around the small space, taking in every inch. “Taking the old carpet out right away will probably help with the stench. I don’t even want to think about what these stains are. Mr. Barranger was a bit of a slob.”

“Wolfe said I could choose the flooring and the paint colors. Should I do more carpet or hardwood? Laminate? I don’t know. I built a house with Anthony about six years ago, but I didn’t have a say in any of the choices.”